


Castle Bound

by uniniverse, whddls



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 05:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11548245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniniverse/pseuds/uniniverse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/whddls/pseuds/whddls
Summary: Life is but a dream.





	Castle Bound

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the amazing Howl's Moving Castle!
> 
> I can't believe I wrote more than half of this sitting on a flight of stairs tbh? This idea was entirely something else in my head and it sounded great but my writing skills don't match up rip
> 
> Thanks to M for being my very very last minute beta and I hope K and M are reading this heheh
> 
> Also shout out to S, I'll miss you lots my baby ♡

It was midday when he left. Being the busiest time of the day, Coalfell’s narrow pebbled streets were bustling with its many merchants and vendors, every corner filled with yells and shouts of people trying to sell off their various goods. Jongin simply slipped out of the backdoor like he always did and as usual, no one noticed.

Leaving your home, your family, everything you grew up with, was not a decision you can make overnight. Yet for Jongin, he had just woken up when he suddenly made up his mind to leave, and so obviously, he hadn’t planned well. All he had in his backpack was an extra outfit, some bread and what little savings that he had, so it was truly dumb of him to follow the shabby looking person who snatched the item away whilst Jongin tried to make his way through the crowded street.

“Stop! That’s everything I own!” The eighteen-year-old shouted in a feeble attempt to maybe gain pity from the thief but honestly, the other probably needed it more than he did. He had started to give up, slowing down as he suddenly realized the situation he was in, a runaway from home with just a pair of clothes on his body. A grimace had started to appear on his face yet his expression morphed into one of relief and surprise as he saw his backpack once more, grabbing it tightly to never lose it again. Jongin looked up to see a man slightly taller than him, lean and broad-shouldered, dressed in a dark gray suit and half his face covered with a hat of the same color.

“Thank you, kind sir.” Jongin started as he bowed down in sincere gratitude but his savior had disappeared into thin air when he stood up, leaving the boy confused. He did try to look for the man but everyone kept getting in his way and he told himself not to let himself be too occupied, he had a home and a job to look for, preferably before the day ended. However, he knew he would have little luck in achieving his goals in Coalfell, it was a small town where everyone knew everyone, despite him not being that sociable. He would probably just be dragged back home to face his mother’s wrath, not to mention the judgemental faces of his siblings. Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

From what he knew, there was another town called Tregaron a little bit towards the west. It was a port city and hopefully he would get a job on a ship, hopefully he would get to travel across the seven seas. This would be the turn of his life that he’d been dreaming of. With a higher level of determination despite his growing hunger, Jongin started to trek up the range of mountains that surrounded Coalfell, it would be best if he reached the other town before nightfall so that he could sleep with a proper roof above his head. There were small huts here and there during his short walk, and by the time he reached what was probably the last residence before it would be an empty downhill path, the sky was dark and void of stars thanks to the clouds that flooded the troposphere. Now he really needed to get to Tregaron.

Munching on his piece of slightly stale bread, he glanced back at his hometown one last time before continuing on his journey, yet he was interrupted by a voice that was quiet and clear at the same time, belonging to an old lady. “Young man… It’s too late for you to be out here, even I am going to Coalfell to retire for the night. They say the Wizard has been too rowdy lately!”

 _Ah, the Wizard._  The one that everyone had been wary of since the past few months, young and old alike were too scared to be out and about during night time. Wizard Howl apparently collected young girls and sucked the souls right out of them, or ate their hearts and burned their bodies. It was one thing or the other but Jongin was not one to believe in rumors so all he did was laugh, simply helping the lady so she could get going. “Don’t you worry about me, ma’am. A miracle is waiting for me just around the corner!” He glanced at the blinking lights from Tregaron as he said it, and he could already smell the salty scent of the sea, feel the breeze as he stood at the end of his ship.

Finishing off his bread, he resumed walking down the path to the port city and it only took a few moments before it started to rain, making the teen laugh out loud at his luck. He had a few choices: turn back towards the row of cottages he passed, or run full speed towards Tregaron. The cottages wouldn’t probably fully shelter him from the rain, and it was highly likely that he would slip and roll down the mountain trying to run in this dark night. Then came his last option. It started from loud creaking that sounded like metal scraping against each other, approaching the male. There was a smell that made his nose scrunch up, a smell that reminded him of forest fires in the mountains. He turned to his left and lo behold, there was the infamous moving castle of Wizard Howl.

It looked nothing like how people had described it, but that was a given considering most of them were rumors. The only accurate characteristic that they had mentioned was that it was enormous, looking like a deformed three storey house. It seemed to be inviting him in somehow, and Jongin wondered if this was how young girls were lured to their deaths, but he caught himself before the thought even ended. All of those were hearsay and right now what he needed was something to keep him from the rain that was growing heavier by the moment. As if reading his mind, the moving building loudly creaked to a stop before lowering slightly, the door swinging open and he didn’t even think before climbing right inside.

Warmth surrounded him immediately and he ran towards the fireplace, holding his palms out towards the crackling fire before gasping loudly as it seemed to shy away from him. “Excuse me…?” He muttered, feeling awfully dumb yet he couldn’t believe himself as a pair of round eyes appeared in the middle of the flame. There was something akin to wonder in that gaze as it seemed to stare straight into Jongin’s soul. “Of course you’re allowed in here…” An unexpectedly deep voice came from the same fire and the boy could only conclude that the castle had somehow enchanted him to start hallucinating. But exhaustion was starting to really overcome him and he slid down to the warm floor, placing his backpack under his head. Even though he still did not have a place to stay or a job to feed him, at least there was a roof over his head temporarily. He drifted off to sleep all too easily, feeling a sense of calmness and comfort that he hadn’t felt in a long while.

☆  ☆  ☆

Jongin didn’t get the chance to consider how things would turn out the next morning, but he was dreaming that he was being thrown out of the castle by a huge black Belgian Malinois, the flame's booming voice telling the boy that being a guest for one night was enough. It sounded like a very possible outcome and as Jongin stirred awake to the sound of low growling, plus what felt like pointed teeth digging into his calf, he sat up with a loud yelp—his dream must've come true. But what he saw instead of the Malinois was a Corgi, a rather small one at that. All his panic vanished in the span of three seconds and he picked the animal up, laughing at the surprised expression it had. "Can you talk, too?" He asked in amusement and to his surprise, the brown dog's face morphed right in front of his eyes, becoming a heap of something very, very _human_. The male in Jongin's lap screamed the same time he did, both of them scrambling away from each other.

"What are you?!" Jongin asked in bewilderment and the other let out an offended scoff, crossing his arms as he stood up. "I'm a person, mind you, called Baekhyun! Wizard Howl's one and only, trustworthy appren-" But Baekhyun didn't get to finish his introduction as the front door swung open and he let out a somewhat meek sound, almost bending into half as he bowed towards the entrance. Jongin blinked, looking to his side curiously, still slightly in disbelief at how Baekhyun had just become Baekhyun from a _Corgi_.

"Chan, why did you let a stranger in?" A voice, not as deep as the fire's but in a way stronger, was heard before the door was even fully open. "See for yourself," The flame replied gruffly, grumpy that he had woken up to screams, and Jongin found himself staring back at the same person from the previous day, the one who had saved his backpack. The teenager stood up, smiling as he noticed he was a good foot taller than the dog-boy, but the other stuck his tongue out childishly before running to the man. "Welcome back, Howl, what orders do we have today? Can you please, please let me handle the Truth Serum? I've been practicing!" Jongin observed their conversation in interest and the wheels in his brain turned much too slowly before the realization finally overcame him.

"You're Howl?!" He never believed the rumors about the wizard in the first place but he looked a lot less scarier than what Jongin had imagined, especially after the nice impression he had of him. Howl seemed like a kind, quiet person, and was actually rather dashing, in Jongin's opinion, and he looked away as the wizard _smiled_ , as if he'd read his mind. Jongin bit his lip, picking up his backpack. "Sorry for intruding your castle, Wizard Howl, it was raining..." He was ready to leave but didn't expect to be stopped by the other male, by a cold hand wrapped around his wrist. "Stay, I need an apprentice to help me." The boy looked up with furrowed eyebrows, surprised and speechless, Baekhyun's indignant squawk went unheard. "Um, this isn't really the kind of job I'm looking for?" He said quietly, not really sure what to do.

"You need to make some kind of payment for having stayed in my place, no?" Howl let go of Jongin's wrist, removing the maroon cape around his shoulders and giving it to Baekhyun before heading towards Chan, feeding firewood into the mouth that appeared in the middle of the flame. Jongin felt quite helpless, he wondered if he would be stuck in the castle forever as the Wizard's apprentice. "What do I need to do then, Howl?" Perhaps he'd be lucky and Howl would let him ago after a day or two.

"Call me Sehun." The other replied before murmuring something to the fire, making Chan grumble under his breath for some reason. Sehun disappeared into a room without another word, leaving Jongin clueless as to what he was supposed to do. He wanted to ask Baekhyun about it since he was the other apprentice but the boy had already turned back into a Corgi, barking in annoyance before scurrying upstairs. That left him alone, well alone with the talking flame and he sat cross-legged in front of it, ready to ask a few hundred questions.

"I don't know what he's trying to do either." Chan said before Jongin could even open his mouth and it made the boy very frustrated, he felt like his mind was an open book to everyone. "Do you think he'll let me leave soon?" He asked and the flame moved as if it was trying to shrug. "Just be careful with him." The reply only left Jongin with more questions and he gave up completely, suddenly wishing that he had never left Coalfell in the first place.

☆  ☆  ☆

After a while of feeling awfully homesick, Sehun emerged from the room with a new outfit and a completely different hair color, a shade of bright orange that looked weirdly good on the wizard. "We're leaving." He announced out of nowhere and grabbed Jongin's wrist like earlier, tugging gently. The male turned the doorknob to the left, there was some kind of clicking sound and when the two of them left the castle, Jongin saw rows of red brick buildings instead of the mountains that surrounded Coalfell. It took a while of walking along the street for Jongin to realize that they were probably in Tregaron, although he wasn't sure how it was possible. "Why are we here?" The boy asked before he would die out of curiosity but as usual, the reply wasn't an answer—he was becoming used to it, to his dismay. "Do you know anything about the World's Last?" was what Sehun asked him and the teenager shook his  head, it was the first time he'd heard of it.

"It's a prophecy about me, the wizard who'll bring the third Great War but I can be stopped by someone, and I think that's you." Now, Jongin knew he had been encountering rather unnecessary situations since he'd run away from home but this was getting way out of hand. "Look, Sehun, I'm just a boy who wants to be a sailor, how am I supposed to prevent you from- from destroying the world?" He pulled his wrist away from Sehun's grip and started to run, even though aware that there was probably no point in running from a wizard. Yet there was no sign of said male when he glanced back and Jongin ran even faster, worry clouding his mind as he passed by the port of Tregaron. _The ships_. Without giving it a second thought, he hurried towards the vessels and boarded one that seemed to be calling for passengers, giving all the coins in his pockets in lieu of a ticket.

He breathed a sigh of relief but it was all too soon as Sehun was seemingly waiting for him, looking rather tired. "Jongin, I just have to make sure that you're not the one in the prophecy, I have ways-" "I don't care!" The teen shouted, suddenly feeling scared. He had to escape somehow. The ocean seemingly called out to him, and he stepped towards his side, a shaky hand holding onto the railing. "Don't do it, Jongin!" Sehun warned in an alarmed tone but the boy didn't listen, right now all he wanted to do was get away. It was either the wizard or the water and every inch of Jongin's being was choosing the latter.

In different circumstances, Jongin wouldn't have the guts to do something like this but he blamed his lack of fear to the string of strange events that had been happening. It was too easy to jump off and the water was refreshing, making him feel calm. He thought he could stay here forever, not hearing Sehun's voice calling out from him, or the other voice that would've sounded familiar to his ears. It was all good until he suddenly went under, submerged by the deep blue water as he started to feel so cold, he didn't know how the temperature turned freezing in a split second. He closed his eyes, slowly accepting the fact that he was drowning to his death yet something weird was happening. The cold water was hitting his face in waves, as if he was being splashed by it even though he was already in the water...

☆  ☆  ☆

Jongin woke up with a loud gasp, shivering as he looked at his younger brother who was holding a bucket of water. The older realized the whole of his upper half was soaking wet, the cause was obvious. "It's five in the morning, Jonghyun, what on earth?" The young boy shrugged and put the bucket down, and his response gave Jongin a sense of dread that made him feel colder than he already was.

_"Someone called Sehun is looking for you."_


End file.
